Unifund CCR, LLC v. Lorene K. Lowe

367 P.3d 145, 159 Idaho 750, 2016 Ida. LEXIS 25
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 11, 2016
Docket42876-2015
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 367 P.3d 145 (Unifund CCR, LLC v. Lorene K. Lowe) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Unifund CCR, LLC v. Lorene K. Lowe, 367 P.3d 145, 159 Idaho 750, 2016 Ida. LEXIS 25 (Idaho 2016).

Opinions

EISMANN, Justice.

This is an appeal out of Fremont County from a judgment for the balance owing on two credit card accounts, based upon the district court’s holding that this action was filed within the five-year statute of limitations of Idaho Code section 5-216 because the cardholder agreements were written contracts. We affirm the judgment of the district court.

I.

Factual Background.

Lorene K. Lowe had two credit cards issued by Citibank, N.A. The account for the first credit card (“Account No. 0415”) was opened on July 1,1996, and the last payment on the account was posted by Citibank on August 3, 2009, which left a balance of $16,981.51 on the account. The account for the other credit card (“Account No. 2085”) was opened on August 10, 1998, and the last payment on the account was posted by Citibank on September 25, 2009, which left a balance of $5,585.82. On June 18, 2012, Citibank sold both credit card accounts to Pilot Receivables Management, LLC (“Pilot Receivables”), and on September 1, 2012, it assigned the accounts for collection to Uni-fund CCR, LLC (“Unifund”).

On December 2, 2013, Unifund filed this action to collect on Account No. 2085, and on May 23, 2014, it filed an amended complaint to add a claim to collect on Account No. 0415. Ms. Lowe filed an answer asserting the affirmative defense of the statute of limitations and four counterclaims. Both parties moved for summary judgment, with the primary issue being the applicable statute of limitations. Unifund contended that the applicable statute of limitations was the five-year statute applicable to an action on a written contract, and Ms. Lowe contended that the applicable statute of limitations was the four-year statute applicable to an action on an oral contract. Both parties agreed that the [752]*752statute of limitations began to run on each account on the date of the last payment. The district court ruled that the five-year statute of limitations applied. Ms. Lowe then agreed to withdraw her counterclaims in exchange for an offset of $500 against the amount of any judgment obtained by Uni-fund. The district court entered a judgment against her in the sum of $35,259.87, which included the principal, prejudgment interest, court costs and attorney fees. Ms. Lowe then timely appealed.

II.

Did the District Court Err in Holding that the Cardholder Agreements Were Contracts in Writing?

“An action upon any contract, obligation or liability founded upon an instrument in writing” must be brought within five years of when the cause of action accrued. I.C. § 5-216. A cause of action on an open account “is deemed to have accrued from the time of the last item proved in the account on either side.” I.C. § 5-222. In this case, both parties agree that the last item on each account was Ms. Lowe’s last payment on the account.

Based upon Hoglan v. First Security Bank of Idaho, N.A., 120 Idaho 682, 819 P.2d 100 (1991), the district court held that this was an action on a contract in writing.1 In Hoglan, this Court addressed the issue of the statute of limitations applicable to a breach of contract claim regarding a credit card account. We held that the five-year statute in Idaho Code section 5-216 applied, stating:

An action on a written contract must be commenced within five years. I.C. § 5-216. The earliest act which could be considered the basis for a breach of contract claim occurred in March of 1983, when First Security stopped sending the monthly statements. The filing by the Hoglans in August of 1987 is within the five year period. The Hoglans’ action for breach of contract clearly falls within this limitation and was not barred by the statute of limitations.

Id. at 685, 819 P.2d at 103. In the present case, the district court wrote, “[Gjiven the written Card Agreement provided by Uni-fund, which Lowe has offered no evidence to contest, there is no reason why this court should not reach the same conclusion the Supreme Court reached in Hoglan.”

Ms. Lowe argues that the Hoglan opinion does not state how this Court came to its conclusion and that the opinion does not provide any information regarding the nature of the contract at issue. She contends that the test for a contract in writing should be a requirement that all essential terms can be ascertained from the written instrument itself, including the identities of the parties and the parties’ acceptance of the contract terms by their signatures on the contract. She asserts that if parol evidence is necessary to establish that Ms. Lowe received the Card Agreement or accepted it by using the card, then the Card Agreement is not a written contract. That argument is not consistent with Idaho law.

“A contract must be complete, definite and certain in all its material terms, or contain provisions which are capable in themselves of being reduced to certainty.” Giacobbi Square v. PEK Corp., 105 Idaho 346, 348, 670 P.2d 51, 53 (1983). Thus, in Wakelam v. Hagood, 151 Idaho 688, 263 P.3d 742 (2011), the owner of three parcels of real property signed an agreement to have them sold at absolute auction to the highest bidder. Id. at 693-94, 263 P.3d at 747-48. When the auction did not produce high-enough bids, the owner refused to complete the sales, and the high bidders sued seeking specific performance and damages. Id. at 690, 263 P.3d at 744. The owner contended that the transaction was barred by the statute of frauds, which required that a contract to convey real property must be an “instrument in writing” signed by the seller. Id. at 691, 263 P.3d at 745. Relying upon Giacobbi Square, we held [753]*753that it would not violate the statute of frauds if the seller of real property agreed in writing that the sale price of the real property and the identity of the buyer could be determined by an absolute auction. We stated:

Therefore, a seller can agree that, rather than stating a definite purchase price, the land sale contract provide a definite method to determine the purchase price, such as being established by an appraiser, by arbitrators, or by the successful bidder at an absolute auction. Similarly, the seller can agree that the identity of the purchaser will be determined by a definite method, such as the highest bidder at an absolute auction.

Id. at 693, 263 P.3d at 747.

The cardholder agreement in Hoglan was a one-page, preprinted form.2 It began by stating, “By signing, requesting, using or permitting others to sign or use a Visa card issued by First Security Bank (BANK), you hereby agree to all of the following procedures, terms and conditions:,” and it then set forth the terms and conditions. The cardholder agreement was unsigned and did not include the Hoglans’ names. Parol evidence was necessary to show that a credit card was issued by the bank and that it was the Ho-glans who signed, requested, used, or permitted others to sign or use the credit card. The cardholder agreement also referred to terms in another writing.

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Bluebook (online)
367 P.3d 145, 159 Idaho 750, 2016 Ida. LEXIS 25, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/unifund-ccr-llc-v-lorene-k-lowe-idaho-2016.